Electrolytic meter.



PATENTED SEPT. 18, 1904 H. I. WOOD. ELECTROLYTIC METER. APPLICATION FILED 113.14. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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v/r/wssses UNITED STATES Patented September 13, 1904.

PATENT FFICE.

HOWARD I. WOOD, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ELECTROLYTIC METER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 770,033, dated September 13, 1904.

Application filed February 14, 1903. Serial No. 143,447. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD I. WooD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenec tady, in the county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrolytic Meters, of which the following is a specification.

One of the objects of my present invention is the production of an electrolytic meter in which the amount of electrolytic action can be more readily and accurately determined than has usually been the case with those heretofore employed.

My invention contemplates the use of an electrode which is supported in a fluid electrolyte by a float, and I propose to measure the electrolytic action by observing the change in the combined buoyancy of the float and electrode taking place as the electrode varies in weight by reason of the electrolytic action occurring when current passes through the meter.

My invention possesses many features of novelty to be fully pointed out in the accompanying claims.

For a better understanding of my invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation, and Fig. 2 is an elevation showing a detail.

' Referring to the drawings, a receptacle or jar 1, which may be made out of glass, is partially filled with the liquid electrolyte 2. The material forming the anode 3 is contained by a trough-shaped shelf or pocket 4, which may be formed integrally with the casing 1. The shelf 4 is located near the upper portion of the part of the casing which is filled with fluid. The cathode 9 is contained in a substantially spherical vessel 5, carried by a hollow stem 6, and preferably is located some distance below the anode 3. Thestem 6 carries at its upper end a hollow floating body 7. The float 7, stem 6, and cathode-containing receptacle are preferably made of glass and form an integral or rigid member having a specific gravity lower than that of the fluid, whereby a portion of the float always projects above the surface of the fluid. Orifices 8 are formed in the upper side of the receptacle 5 to permit contact of the electrolyte 2 with the cathode 9, contained at the bottom of the receptacle 5. I prefer to employ metallic mercury as the material composing the electrodes and a solution of mercurous nitrate as the electrolyte, though other materials may be employed.

In the construction which I have illustrated in Fig. 1 the meter is placed in shunt to a resistance 10 in one of the conductors leading from a source 11 of electric energy. Wires 12 and 13 convey the current to and away from the meter. These wires pass through apertures in the stopper 14, closing the top of the receptacle 1 to the anode and cathode, respectively. The portion of the Wire 12 extending inward from the stopper is surrounded by some insulating material 15 throughout the major portion of its length, only that portion of the wire which is always .under the surface of the mercury forming the anode 3 being exposed. The wire 13, which passes centrally through the stopper 14, passes down through the hollow float 7 into the stem 6, which is substantially filled with mercury. A wire 16 passes through the wall, closing the lower end of the tube 6, forming an electrical connection between the mercury in the stem and the cathode. The lower end of the tube 6 extends down into the receptacle 5 so far that the portion of the wire 16 which projects externally of the tube 6 is always below the surface of the mercury forming the cathode. A wire 17 extends from the lower side of the receptacle 5 in line with the axis of the tube 6. The lower end of this wire projects into a well of mercury contained in the bore of a tubular extension 18, projecting from the lower end of the receptacle 1. The wire 13, in addition to forming electrical connection with the cathode, cooperates with the wire 17 and the inner wall of the float 6 and the tubular extension 18 to hold the float and cathode in a central position with respect to the jar.

The float 7 carries at its upper end a tubular extension 19. This tubular extension is provided with a scale 20, as is clearly inclicated in Fig. 2. The scale may be formed in any desired manner, as by ruling lines on the stem 19, but preferably is formed by inserting a rolled paper scale within the tubular extension 19. The indicating member cooperating with the scale 20 consists of a ringshaped member 21, surrounding the tubular extension 19 and carried by arms 22, extending upward from the annular body 23, which floats freely on the surface of the electrolytic fluid. The indicating device is positioned by the floating body 7, which it surrounds. Preferably the floats 23 and arms 22 are formed of glass, the float 23 being made tubular in cross-section in order that it may possess the proper degree of buoyancy.

As is readily understood, the electrolytic action taking place on the passage of current through the meter causes a decrease in the mass of mercury forming the anode 3, with a corresponding increase in the mercury forming the cathode 9. All of the metallic mercury formed at the cathode is collected in the receptacle 5 by reason of its shape and arrangement. As the mercury forming the cathode increases on the passage of current, the float 7 together with the receptacle 5, sinks deeper into the body of the electrolyte. The amount of such submergence is readily ascertained by observing the position of the ring 21 with respect to the scale 20. As the float 7 sinks in the jar 1, owing either to the increased weight of the cathode carried by it or to a lower level of the liquid in the jar, less of the wire 13 is contained within the well of mercury located in the hollow stem 6; but this produces no appreciable effect upon the buoyancy of the floating member, since the portion of the wire 17 extending from the bottom of the receptacle 5 which dips into the Well of mercury contained in the tubular extension 18 is increased to a similar amount. The amount of the wire 17 in the electrolytic fluid varies, of course, with the position of the float; but owing to the comparatively low specific gravity of the electrolytic fluid this does not appreciably affect the buoyancy of the floating member. It is of course immaterial which electrode is fixed and which one is attached to the float. If the anode is carried by the float, the passage of current will of course cause the float to rise in the fluid instead of to fall.

With the floating indicator which I have employed the exact measurement of the amount of displacement occurring on the passage of current through the medium can be now known to me, it is apparent that-many changes in the construction and arrangement of the parts forming my meter can be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not intend that my claims shall be limited to the exact details here shown and described.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a meter, a body of liquid electrolyte, a body floating in said liquid, an electrode carried by said body, and means for measuring the combined buoyancy of the body and the electrode as the electrode changes in weight.

2. In an electrolytic meter, a fluid electrolyte, a member floating in said electrolyte, means for causing the said member to change in weight in response to the current-flow in said meter, and means for measuring the resultant change in submergence of said member.

3. In an electrolytic meter, a body of liquid electrolyte, a movable electrode totally submerged in said electrolyte, a floating body partially submerged in said liquid carrying said electrode, and means for measuring the varying degrees of submergence of said lastmentioned body as the electrode carried by it varies in weight.

4:. In an electrolytic meter, a mass of fluid, a floating body partially submerged in said fluid, an electrode carried by said floating body, and means for measuring the different degrees of submergence of said body occurring as the electrode varies in weight.

I 5. In an electrolytic meter, a body of liquid, a tubular floating body partially submerged in said liquid, a receptacle supported from and beneath said float, an electrode carried by said receptacle, and an electrical contact for said electrode passing upward through said float.

6. In an electrolytic meter, a body of fluid, a hollow partially-submerged body floating in said fluid, an electrode carried by said body totally submerged in said fluid, a body of mercury partially filling said hollow body, a conductor dipping into said mercury, and another conductor in contact with the mercury and the electrode and insulated from the electrolytic'fluid.

7. In an electrolytic meter, a body of liquid electrolyte, a partially-submerged hollow body floating in said electrolyte, an electrode contained in a receptacle entirely submerged in said liquid and connected to said floating body by a hollow stem, one end of said stem being 8. In an electrolytic meter, an electrolyte, a partially-submerged body floating in said electrolyte, an electrode carried by said floating body, a conductor supported independently of said electrode, and a body of conducting liquid carried by said floating body and electrically connecting said electrode and said conductor.

9. In an electrolytic meter, a receptacle partially filled with a liquid containing a mercurial salt in solution, a body floating in said liquid and having a portion projecting above the suface of the liquid, a mass of mercury contained in a receptacle entirely submerged in said liquid and carried by said floating body, another mass of mercury entirely submerged in said liquid and supported independently of said floating body, means for causing electric current to flow from one mass of mercury to the other through the fluid, and means for measuring the change produced in the amount of the floating body projecting above the surface of the fluid as the quantity of mercury carried by the floating body varies in amount by reason of the electrolytic action produced by the current flowing between the two masses of mercury.

10. In combination, abody of liquid, a body floating in said liquid, means for positioning said floating body without materially affecting its buoyancy upon a change in level of the liquid or a change in the degree of submergence of the floating body comprising a body of liquid having aspecific gravity much higher than that of the first-mentioned liquid supported independently of said floating body, another body of a similar heavy liquid supported by said floating body, a member supported independently of said floating body and dipping into said heavy liquid carried thereby, and another member carried by said floating body and dipping into the other body of heavy liquid.

11. In an electrolytic meter, a receptacle, a mass of liquid contained thereby, a body floating in said liquid, an electrode carried by said body, a Well of mercury located in said body and in electrical contact with said electrode, a current-carrying element dipping into said mercury, and a similar element depending from said body and dipping into a well of mercury carried by the receptacle.

12. In an electrolytic meter, a mass of liquid, a body floating in said liquid, an electrode carried by said body, a well of mercury located in said body and in electrical contact with said electrode, a current-carrying element dipping into said mercury, a well of mercury supported independently of said floating body, and an element similar to the first-mentioned element depending from said body and dipping into said independentlysupported well of mercury.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 12th day of February, 1903.

HOWARD I. WOOD.

Witnesses:

BENJAMIN B. HULL, HELEN ORFORD. 

